What impacts could cuts to the Ericson Public Library entail?

By Gena Johnson News-Republican Editor

Thursday

Jan 25, 2018 at 12:01 AM

Ericson Public Library (EPL) has had to adapt this past year, and will again.

Recently, the council moved to cut the library’s fiscal year 19 budget by $36,000. Last year, fiscal year 18, the library was cut by $43,000 - an 8 percent general fund reduction. The library made cuts to part-time staff hours and the budget for materials to make up for the fiscal year 18 cut.

“We cut $43,000, and we did not request that funding back this year,” EPL Director Jamie Williams said.

“With not requesting that back, that means our materials budget is $35,000, which in fiscal year 17 it was at $55,000.”

The EPL had help from a match-pledge fundraiser from Fareway last May to help raise funds for materials. The Friends of the Library stepped in and helped raise about $10,000.

“That $20,000 pretty much was going toward materials,” Williams said. “Donations, fundraisers, and all that you can’t really rely on year after year for operating expenses.

“A lot of grants have restrictions and limitations on how they can be used, so many times things we request money for - like computers, technology or materials - we really can’t fundraise for staff salaries.”

Many patrons rely on the library for its computers and ask for help from library staff frequently, Williams said.

“The staff part of it is important, we don’t just check out books,” Williams said, adding the library has also seen an increase in patrons after the closing of the Iowa Workforce Development location in Boone. “We sit down and work with people who have technology questions, there are plenty of people who come in that have to apply for a job or unemployment benefits and they have never used a computer before.

“Staff is really important and you have to have people that are qualified, know what they are doing and are tech-savvy.”

Williams stated that the library is fortunate to have dedicated and helpful staff members.

“I was looking back in our statistics and in 2008 we had 11.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs),” Williams said. “We are now down to 8 FTEs, when I say 8, I mean there is only 6 full-time employees.

“The part-time people that we have come in work very minimal hours, maybe anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week, and all their hours combined created two full-time positions.”

Since she started as director in 2013, Williams has looked for more ways to be efficient with funds. An example, she used was switching software, which saved the library $6,000 per year.

“We’ve really tried to be efficient with the funds we have been given,” Williams said.

The library used to do 15 outreach visits per month, but the library is only doing three a month currently.

“Outreach is important in libraries because you’re providing a service out in the community where people can’t typically come in - like preschools, daycares or senior centers,” Williams said.

She said they have been more creative and efficient in the programs the library offers, as the programs in the general fund for the year is only $800.

“We also apply for a lot of grants, request funding through foundations for bigger types of programs,” Williams said. “The Lowry Foundation gives us funding for our summer reading program, the Friends of the Library provide funding for all of our online resources, so we just have to be smarter and more efficient with what we are doing.”

EPL Board of Trustees President Susan Posch said possiblilites due to the cut include: relying on volunteers, cutting hours, cutting the purchase of new materials, increasing fees, reduction in day-to-day maintenance of facility, and adding new charges for use of meeting spaces or library equipment for example. No actions have been made by the Board of Trustees yet as to where those cuts will come from in the library’s budget.

Currently, the EPL has a contracted maintenance worker who works 20 hours per week working on repairs throughout the building. He does not receive benefits from the library and is not considered a library employee.

“The (citywide) maintenance position was something that was identified as a way to maybe share costs amongst departments,” Williams said. “The maintenance position was a goal that was brought up during a goal setting session.”

Boone City Administrator Bill Skare met with the Board of Trustees in December about the citywide maintenance position, she said.

“There wasn’t really any details … there’s no job description, so we asked if we would still have 20 hours or the time it would take to get everything done,” Williams said. “There just weren’t any guarantees so the board wasn’t comfortable agreeing to go into that without knowing more information.”

There is a possibility the maintenance service contract will have to be cut, which is $16,000. If the maintenance position would be cut, $20,000 would left to cut from the budget.

Loss in state accreditation is something Williams hopes she will not have to prepare for due to the cut. If the EPL drops below 51 hours of operation time, that is when the loss could occur - the library currently has 53 hours of operation.

“I would like to say I don’t want to prepare for that, because I don’t know of any other F-sized library that is not accredited to a tier-3 standard,” Williams said. “The fact that we wouldn’t be open at least 51 hours is just sad to me.

“Not just to me, for our citizens, for our community, because if you come in here you know it’s a very busy place … there’s really no other place you can get those services here in Boone.”

Williams said she has directed patrons who express their disappointment about the cuts to speak with their respective councilman.

Citizens interested in making online donations can visit https://www.paypal.me/friendsofepl or join Friends of the Library, a group which helps support the library, through the following signup form http://www.boone.lib.ia.us/use-the-library/friends/friends%20membership.pdf. Membership forms can be dropped off or mailed to the library at 702 Greene Street.

How does the Ericson Public Library compare to the F-size library averages